Childhood admirers of the scrupulously well-behaved hero, Rupert the Bear, will be horrified to hear of his latest adventure: Rupert and the Cancer Sticks.
The much-loved comic strip character has lent his name to an investment fund aimed at those keen to build up a nest egg for their children's future. Now it has been revealed that a sizeable chunk of the millions of pounds invested is being used to buy shares in tobacco.
The British Medical Association and anti-smoking group Ash yesterday condemned the decision by investment giant Invesco Perpetual to put large sums of money into companies such as British American Tobacco, one of the world's largest tobacco companies which sells 800bn cigarettes annually.
A magazine sent to the 70,000 investors in the Invesco Perpetual Rupert Children's Fund reveals that three tobacco companies alone - BAT, Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher - make up 15% of the £75m fund. In the magazine you can draw a Rupert Bear dot-to-dot, colour in a Rupert Bear picture and cook from the recipe for Mrs Bear's chocolate squares.
A few pages on you can read a table showing that BAT, with brands including Dunhill and Lucky Strike, is now the second largest investment, making up 6.6% of the portfolio. Imperial Tobacco, behind names such as Lambert & Butler and Superkings, accounts for 4.4%, and Gallaher, maker of Benson & Hedges, 3.8%.
Launched in 1988, the Rupert fund keeps close tabs on the youngsters whose money it looks after, sending them birthday cards and giving them a Kids Corner section of the company website.
The fund has underperformed badly in the past, bringing new meaning to the term bear market. Ironically, it is the heavy weighting in tobacco stocks that has helped it to deliver an above-average performance in recent months. Over the six months to November 30, the fund delivered growth of 11.1%, compared with a gain of 8.7% from the FTSE 100 index.
The revelation of the fund's heavy reliance on cigarettes is likely to see some parents wrestling with their consciences over what price they are prepared to pay to build up a decent sum for their child.
The BMA was in little doubt, though. It said 450 children start smoking every day, about half of whom will ultimately die of smoking-related diseases. "Most parents would like to think the world will be a better place for their children, not that they have been investing in the recruitment and ultimate death of other children," a spokeswoman said. Public health charity Ash, Action on Smoking and Health, said: "Children and investment in the tobacco industry don't mix."
Invesco Perpetual pointed out the fund made no secret of its tobacco holdings and was not marketed or managed as an ethical investment. "A lot of our UK funds at the moment do have a strong weighting in tobacco, which has performed well," said a spokeswoman.
